Review Catch Up

I'm playing catch up again....

Upcoming Release

The Duke I Once Knew by Olivia Drake

3,5 Stars - Worth a Reader's Time

Review Copy provided by Publisher via Net Galley

Releases December 31, 2018

This was a bit of a slow started for me, but the further I got into it the more I enjoyed it.
Abby and Max were teenage sweethearts separated by life and misunderstandings. Fast forward 15 years and we see Abby struggling to find her place in a world where 30 is “on the shelf” and Max is going through the motions.
Once we got past some of the set up and were able to see Abby and Max really interact, I found myself really enjoying them. Abby was easy to like, even when I felt badly for the situation she was in. I also really like the dichotomy of her character. Biddable and pleasing in on hard, but strong willed and independent on the other.
Max was a little harder to get a feel for, but his evolution was one that I found appealing. It was easy to see that his emotional growth had stunted in his mid teens. I would have appreciated seeing a little bit more of his actual journey to embrace the changes in his life vs the idea of the changes being a fait d accompli after the fact.
Overall this was a fun book that is worth the effort to get to know. I did struggle a little with the neat and tidy bow that everything was tied up in, especially after such a long time apart and the very different ways their lives had developed.
The characters are interesting and I would be curious to see what happens to Max’s extended group of friends.

Amazon

A Newer Release...

  Eat, Drink and Be . . . Married by Faith Andrews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars - Would recommend to a Friend

I initially read this as part of a kindle world and was thrilled to read the expanded version.
This is a quick and entertaining read about instant attraction, standing up for yourself, and finding where you fit.
Due to length, we don’t get to know any of the characters very well, but Jude and Lelia are both a lot of fun. The small supporting cast is entertaining and adds humor and life lessons along the way too.
If you are looking for a quick break, this would be a good holiday read to escape with.

Amazon

I've also been diving into my TBR pile....

 A Crane Family Christmas by Jessica Lemmon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Author Freebie

This was a cute holiday freebie from the Billionaire Bad Boy series.
It's an enjoyable catch up to the characters we've met and had so much fun with previously. If you have not read the series, then this will not make sense.

Amazon

A Kiss For The Cameras by Olivia Jaymes

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a cute read. It was a bit of a slow start, but became more entertaining the more I read.
I enjoyed that our heroine was a successful author working to take control of how her works were presented to the world.
Given the set up for the book, it felt like the author missed a chance for potential conflict. The idea of a "showmance" is in the title, but isn't really talked about for most of the book. While I enjoyed the story, it just felt a little disconnected from the title and the set up.

Amazon

Adam by Jennifer Ashley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Free on Kindle

This was a quick, entertaining read that I felt had a lot of untapped potential.
Adam and Bailey had a fling in high school. Fast forward 10 years and they are both back in their home town licking wounds and working to move forward with their respective lives with Bailey working on his family’s ranch.
I liked both Adam and Bailey and I liked the set up for this story. My complaint is that we didn’t get to see enough of just them to really buy the idea of a “right person, wrong time” reconnection. This is the first book in a new series and there was so much focus on world building and introducing future plot lines, that this book’s couple got lost in the shuffle. I wanted more Bailey/Adam and less of the secondary characters or more book to even things out.
This was a free read from a new to me author. While I enjoyed Adam, I’m not sure I liked it enough to continue with the series.

Amazon

A Thousand Letters by Staci Hart

3.5 Stars - Worth a Reader's Time

I’m not really sure where to start here.....
I love the set up of this book. High school sweethearts, he joins the Army, a misunderstanding, and 7 years go by before circumstances bring them back together.
I liked Elliot and Wade separately and I appreciated the emotional struggles they were dealing with.
But, I struggled some with the execution of the story. I didn’t get the need for the Cinderella-like relationship between Elliot and her family (is this my lack of extensive Austen reading coming through?) and felt like it added a layer of complication to an already fraught story. Wade’s grand gesture - while incredibly romantic- also felt like a little too little given the yo yo he’d been with Elliot. I get why she responded the way she did, but would have liked to have seen more of the “what next” vs a neat tie up and conclusion.
If you are looking for a light read - this isn’t it. The emotion of the story pours off the page. While there is a HEA, it’s hard to get there. Both main characters have a lot of emotional maturing to do and they seem to come across as better for it, but it is not an easy road. This is definitely a book worth reading, but it does need a bit of a “caution” sticker.

Amazon

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